notes on the first week

wow, a lot to say...one week of actual chaplain duty under my belt.

In an attempt to be low-key, I'm pretty encouraged. I felt very comfortable counseling the soldiers who came (a lot of marital stuff). I loved the chance to address the soldier formations (I did this twice). I endured the times where I had to just "butt-in" to soldiers hanging out and introduce myself to them.

But overall, I did a good job and have a number of ideas brewing about the future.

One of the cool things was that I was able to lead a soldier to rededicate his life to Christ on my second day there. It was so cool. At the end of the session, I told him that we should pray, but that I wanted him to pray. He was uncomfortable, but I did feel led by the Holy Spirit that this was an appropriate task.

On Friday, I addressed one of the companies before PT. tangent-----I am chaplain of the 2nd chemical battalion. The 2nd Chemical Battalion is about 800 soldiers. The battalion is divided into 7 "companies", all with an identifing number (where the number comes from I dunno): the 13th, the 46th, the 44th, the 172nd, the 181st, and HHD (headquarters). Each company has around 100 soldiers. The companies are divided up into platoons (abut 20 soldiers). And the platoons are divided up into squads. The army pretty much stole John Wesley's class system in organizing their soldiers. (I know thats not true, I can't even believe you thought I was serious..)

So I was addressing the HHD company before PT on Friday morning (6:30AM). tangent--My first day of PT we did a 4 mile run. I was unable to keep up with the main group and ran the last half by myself. The bright side is that I did finish and that I was not the first person to fall out. I'll do better and better as time goes on. On Friday I ran with the C group. We all had to finish together. There was one soldier who was HURTING about 1/4 of the way through and it really slowed us down, almost to a quick walk. So I was able to finish quite easily. The solider toughed it out and did finish, which was a major accomplishment for him cause he was really struggling. I did the chaplian thing after the run and went up and gave him a good pep talk.

So I was addressing the HHD company before PT on Friday morning. It was an opportunity for me to allow the soldiers to see me, more importantly, it gave me an opportunity to set the tome for my ministry among them. My words were very important cause this was to be my first impression. What I said had mixed reviews among the Souza family, but I think was recieved very well by the soldiers (after they got over the shock). I counseled one of the soldiers later on that day and he said he liked it a lot.

Well, ummm, I'm kinda sheepish writing this, but.....on the way to PT that morning, I was NOT even thinking of saying anything but as I was driving I realized that the run this morning was gonna be extra challenging because I did not fully umm, er, uh,....get rid of all my poop before I left. I.e., I was gonna be running while holding it in. I knew that I'd be focusing on that instead of the run and it was gonna effect my overall performance at PT. Than, the Holy Spirit put it all together and told me to share my lesson. We all have stuff that we are holding in...sometimes it is indeed in the stomach (or intestines, or whatever), but sometimes it is in the head or the heart. And we end up focusing on that instead of the mission we have been given. We're less effective and at risk of failing. In the army, failing mission is not an option cause that means people die. I went on to say that the answer can be as simple as "taking a dump" and I invited the soldiers to think of my office as a toilet where they could take take that dump. The soldiers were laughing. My hope was to disarm the soldiers in such a way that they felt comfortable around me. I outrank them all and there is always this distance between officers and soldiers. A good chaplain perfectly balances the line between the two. It's kinda like being in the world and not of it.

At the end of Friday, I did close out formation with the 44st company. I wasn't sure if I broke any rules or not, but I brought my entire family to the motor pool and lined them up before the soldiers. I told them that I bet that many of them thought that we had a perfect, squared away family. After all, my wife and kids are good looking, they seem well behaved and I am the chaplain and the chaplain MUST have everything ideal. I told them that that was not the case at all, and that we had problems and issues. To Keris dismay, I told them that we had a big fight the night before (true) and that there were even times that we had to find someone else to talk to cause we couldnt fix things ourselves. The point was that life is not about being perfect. It was about working on and working out your issues and, if need be, going for help when you needed it. I told them that I was here to serve and help them when they needed it. When I was done they all applauded and a 2lieutenant ran up to me and asked me for my number. It was cool. Then we went out to Mexican food with one of our neighbors. Her husband is currently in Iraq.

Much more I could write, like my dealings with a Wiccan soldier (and a Muslim one too). But I'm going to bed.

.....